■IRELAND
Trapattoni inks new contract
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni on Friday penned a new two-year contract with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) which will take him through to the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers. The 70-year-old will attempt to book a trip to next summer’s World Cup finals as the Republic lie second in their qualifying group, having won four and drawn four of their games in the campaign so far. “I am delighted to continue my job with the FAI,” said Trapattoni, who’s contract had been due to expire next year. Trapattoni named a 27-man provisional squad for next month’s decisive qualifiers against his native Italy and Montenegro, adding Steven Reid, Paul McShane and Darren O’Dea to the men who did duty in Cyprus earlier this month.
■ARGENTINA
Maradona drops players
Embattled Argentina coach Diego Maradona juggled his team for next month’s two critical World Cup qualifiers, dropping seven players and giving a first-time call up to Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain. Maradona also recalled midfielder Pablo Aimar to the squad. The biggest shock was the dropping of seven players who were in the squad for losses last month to Brazil and Paraguay. The defeats have left Argentina out of the top four automatic qualifying places from South America for next year’s World Cup. Gone from the squad are Fernando Gago, Javier Zanetti, Jesus Datolo, Maxiliano Rodriguez, Lisandro Lopez, Pablo Carrizo and Nicolas Burdisso. Argentina play at home on Oct. 10 against Peru and they wrap up qualifying a few days later against Uruguay.
■LONDON
Forty matches probed
UEFA is investigating 40 cases of suspected match-fixing involving Champions League and UEFA Cup matches, a senior official at European soccer’s governing body said on Friday. Peter Limacher, UEFA’s head of disciplinary services, said his department was probing early qualifying matches over the last four years involving clubs “mainly from eastern Europe.” Of the 40 matches where UEFA has been alerted to suspicious betting patterns, 15 took place in the last two years, Limacher said. “Right now it’s mainly eastern Europe clubs being investigated. They know they are not going to be involved later in the tournament and they are going out, so decide: ‘Let’s make a profit,’” Limacher said.
■SWEDEN
Keeper cleared to play
IFK Goteborg goalkeeper Kim Christensen has been cleared to play for the Swedish league leaders this weekend, three days after admitting he moved the posts to make the goal slightly smaller during a midweek game. The Swedish Football Association’s disciplinary committee said on Friday that a possible suspension or fine will not be decided until Thursday. “We are investigating [the case] until then,” disciplinary committee chairman Kenneth Tallinger told newspaper Expressen.
■GERMANY
Bochum win on the road
Diego Klimowicz scored in the seventh minute to give VfL Bochum a 1-0 victory at Nuremberg for their first win on the road in the Bundesliga on Friday. It was also the first win for interim coach Frank Heinemann, who stepped in for the fired Marcel Koller less than a week ago. Paul Freier sent a sharp low cross from the right for Klimowicz to knock in at the far post for what was one of Bochum’s few chances in the first half. Nuremberg fell to their third defeat in four home games.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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